Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Queen Elizabeth would like to announce ... That she has tickets!!  Assiduous searching of the London 2012 website finally paid off.   I will be in the North Greenwich arena tomorrow, equipped with my inhaler, ready to shout as loud as anyone ever thought possible.  I will try to tweet, but it's likely my hands will be shaking quite a lot. One Queen knows another, and our Queen Mustafina needs some celebration ... this girl is the spirit of the Russian team - God help her and her colleagues tomorrow as they begin their defence of Russia's gymnastics pride. UDACHI Russia!!!  All the luck in the world - you deserve it!!!

2010 World Champion Aliya Mustafina will play a vital role The FIG has now published a start list for tomorrow's WAG qualification (interestingly, it shows Romania's Iordache doing the all around, so perhaps her heel isn't that bad after all ...) Remember in qualis, the format is 5-4-3 so there is a little less pressure than in the finals, where every routine counts.  The working order for the Russian girls is as follows : Floor : Mustafina, Komova, Grishina, Afanasyeva Vault : Grishina, Komova, Mustafina, Paseka Bars : Grishina, Mustafina, Komova Paseka Beam : Mustafina, Grishina, Komova, Afanasyeva Mustafina appears as a 'table setter' on floor and beam where she is expected to do a solid job. Captain Afanasyeva has to carry the pressure both on floor and beam as the final gymnast there.  I'm guessing it will be a close battle between Mustafina and Grishina for the second all around spot, assuming that Komova does her job.  Although...

Russia come to London as underdogs in the women's artistic gymnastics, the fearsome, powerful USA the most likely contenders by far for team gold.   Saddled with a reputation for alarming inconsistency and an under power team with little reserve, Russia seem unlikely to stem the tide of efficient, stable athleticism that is the strength of the American gymnasts - and of the resurgent Romanians, who beat them at the European Championships in Brussels this spring. But Russia are ruffling some feathers in London.  The amplitude, expression and technique, always a characteristic of their work, has now been joined by a sassy, confident attitude that has often found more expression on the girls' personal Facebook pages than on the gymnastics podium.  The Russian gymnasts have begun to show their character on the podium, as well as off it - and it is much appreciated by the ground swell of gymnastics fans who have been willing them for so long to show their class and grab...